You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
Hello. How do I force Safari to download PDF files rather than open them in the browser? I want it to automatically download the files like it does with Microsoft Word or Excel files. I am using Safari 10.02 on Sierra. Thank you.
iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12.2)
How to disable Safari's in-browser pdf viewer and, instead, force download of selected pdf links in macOS Sierra 10.12.3
1. If you have Adobe Reader installed, disable Adobe's pdf viewer browser plug-ins:
a. Open Adobe Reader/Acrobat Pro; go to Preferences -> Internet; under Web Browser Options, uncheck all boxes; confirm preference changes by selecting "OK."
b. Open Safari; go to Preferences -> Security -> Plug-in Settings; in the left column, uncheck boxes next to any Adobe "PDFViewer..." plug-ins.
c. Quit both Adobe and Safari.
d. Open Finder; go to Macintosh HD/Library/Internet Plug-Ins; in that Internet Plug-Ins folder, you should find a few Adobe plug-ins as well as a folder named "Disabled Plug-Ins" (if you do not yet have a Disabled Plug-Ins folder, create one); move both "AdobePDFViewer.plugin" and "AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin" to Disabled Plug-Ins (requires administrator authentication).
2. Use command line to create a defaults plist entry disabling WebKit in-line pdf viewing:
a. Open Terminal (located in your Applications/Utilities folder); copy-and-paste the following text to Terminal
defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitOmitPDFSupport -bool YES
b. Hit Return to execute the command.
Note: There is no (automatic) confirmation/response after successful entry of the above command. If, however, you wish to check whether the command worked, you may enter the following:
defaults read com.apple.Safari WebKitOmitPDFSupport
If the entry was successfully made, the system will return "1" on the next line (corresponding to the newly-written "YES" boolean key).
3. Restart your computer.
Comment: I also removed the Adobe Application Manager internet plug-in (AdobeAAMDetect.plugin) as part of Steps 1.b and 1.d, above. I am unsure whether leaving the AAM plug-in might affect the outcome.
The foregoing worked for me, running macOS 10.12.3 and Safari 10.0.3.
How to disable Safari's in-browser pdf viewer and, instead, force download of selected pdf links in macOS Sierra 10.12.3
1. If you have Adobe Reader installed, disable Adobe's pdf viewer browser plug-ins:
a. Open Adobe Reader/Acrobat Pro; go to Preferences -> Internet; under Web Browser Options, uncheck all boxes; confirm preference changes by selecting "OK."
b. Open Safari; go to Preferences -> Security -> Plug-in Settings; in the left column, uncheck boxes next to any Adobe "PDFViewer..." plug-ins.
c. Quit both Adobe and Safari.
d. Open Finder; go to Macintosh HD/Library/Internet Plug-Ins; in that Internet Plug-Ins folder, you should find a few Adobe plug-ins as well as a folder named "Disabled Plug-Ins" (if you do not yet have a Disabled Plug-Ins folder, create one); move both "AdobePDFViewer.plugin" and "AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin" to Disabled Plug-Ins (requires administrator authentication).
2. Use command line to create a defaults plist entry disabling WebKit in-line pdf viewing:
a. Open Terminal (located in your Applications/Utilities folder); copy-and-paste the following text to Terminal
defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitOmitPDFSupport -bool YES
b. Hit Return to execute the command.
Note: There is no (automatic) confirmation/response after successful entry of the above command. If, however, you wish to check whether the command worked, you may enter the following:
defaults read com.apple.Safari WebKitOmitPDFSupport
If the entry was successfully made, the system will return "1" on the next line (corresponding to the newly-written "YES" boolean key).
3. Restart your computer.
Comment: I also removed the Adobe Application Manager internet plug-in (AdobeAAMDetect.plugin) as part of Steps 1.b and 1.d, above. I am unsure whether leaving the AAM plug-in might affect the outcome.
The foregoing worked for me, running macOS 10.12.3 and Safari 10.0.3.
Thank you. I guess there is no longer anyway to have it automatically download. I was hoping for just a one click solution (the right click involves a second task of selecting a download option). It's not a big deal but it has slowed my workflow down somewhat. Thank you.
Thank you for replying. Yes, I can do that or let it load and then click on the download symbol that appears when you hover near the bottom of the page but what I am trying to do is to have the link download rather than display. I had it set up that way for years on the laptop but I do not remember how I did it. It saves a step as I gather a lot of research to read for later and I am slowed down by having to process each file individually. Thank you.
From the View menu, Show Status Bar.
Then, you can right-click on a link offering a PDF, and there will be two download option on the pop-up menu. I always hover over that PDF link, and then review the link in the status bar to ensure that it really is a PDF — before I download it. You can download the PDF as it is named via the Download Linked File menu item, and it will go to your designated download folder, or select the Download Linked File As... to open a Save panel.
Thank you so much for the step by step instructions. I had given up on this. I haven't tried your solution yet but reading through it I think it will work. The instructions are very precise and clear. Thanks again.
You can use Safari > File > Save As... to save the PDF on your Mac.
How do I force safari to download PDF files rather than open them in the browser window
